RICHARDSON, Texas (September 6, 2001) -
Dr. Ravi Prakash, assistant professor of computer science at The
University of Texas at Dallas, has been granted a Career Award from the
National Science Foundation (NSF) for his work in mobile computing and
wireless networking.

The award, worth $250,000 over the next five years, is part of the
NSF’s Faculty Early Career Development program, also known as CAREER.
The Career Award is the NSF’s most prestigious honor for junior
faculty members and recognizes and supports the early career development
activities of the teacher/scholars who are most likely to become
academic leaders of the 21st century. Recipients are selected on the
basis of creative career development plans that effectively integrate
research and education within the context of the mission of their
respective institutions.

Prakash’s area of research and expertise involves mobile networks,
specifically developing new solutions for mobile ad hoc networking and
evaluating the performance of those solutions by computer-simulated
experiments, possibly building small prototypes as research advancements
are made. No such commercial network currently exists. The research is
important because if cellular networks break down - in situations such
as natural disasters - or do not exist, such as in Third World
countries, on a battlefield or in remote locations, this technology
could “pick up the slack” and create its own network via Personal
Digital Assistants or mobile computers.

“We are honored to have among our talented staff recipients of such
distinguished grants as the NSF Career Award,” said Dr. Andrew
Blanchard, senior associate dean of the Erik Jonsson School of
Engineering and Computer Science at UTD. “Ravi is an outstanding
researcher, and we are confident his findings will lead to greater
understanding - and solutions - in mobile ad-hoc networks.”

Prakash also conducts research in distributed systems, operating
systems, cellular telephony and satellite networks. To date, Nortel
Networks, Alcatel USA and the NSF have funded much of his research. A
member of the Embedded Software Council, Prakash completed his doctorate
in Computer and Information Science at Ohio State University and has
published articles in scholarly journals, assisted in the development of
technical reports and has spoken at numerous conferences.

The NSF established the CAREER program in 1995 to help top-performing
scientists and engineers early in their careers continue their
commitment to research and education. Career Awards are bestowed each
year to approximately 400 junior faculty members at universities across
the country. Awards typically range in amount from $200,000 to $500,000
and in duration from four to five years.

Begun in 1950, the NSF was created to promote and advance progress in
science and engineering research education in the United States. The NSF
supports all fields of science, mathematics and engineering and is an
independent federal agency that does not fall under any cabinet
department.

About UTD

The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of
Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major
multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor,
enrolls approximately 7,000 undergraduate and 5,000 graduate students.
The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of
Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university
offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral
degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the
university’s Web site at www.utdallas.edu
.